


London

by Mlr96



Series: The Two Doctors [10]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Doctor Who
Genre: Episode: s03e01 Smith and Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-06 20:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12218445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mlr96/pseuds/Mlr96
Summary: Tenth in The Two Doctors series about Dr. Spencer Reid, a genius, an FBI Agent, a profiler and a Time Lord.Story #10, Part 1:“Quick question, are you in the States or UK at the moment?”“Not far from London,” Spencer replied tiredly, rubbing his eyes. “Why?”“Oh, nothing serious,” the Doctor dismissed. “I’m just admitting myself into a hospital and I need to list an emergency medical contact.”





	1. Chapter 1

There were very few things that Spencer Reid hated.

Some things simply annoyed him – long car rides and too-bitter coffee, for example. Others, he hated with both his hearts and was willing to kill on sight – Daleks, some of the murderers his team hunted and, since Canary Wharf, Cybermen.

But there were very few things that he only hated. He didn’t turn murderous over them, but it was definitely a few stages over _‘annoying’_.

One of these things were phone calls in the middle of the night. He learned to deal with it over time, what with the nature of his job, but there was no justifying it while he was _on vacation_.

He rolled over to the edge of the bed. It was too big, as was the rest of his room at Saxon’s – the Master’s – house. There were too many pillows, too many blankets, and he couldn’t wait for Election Day to arrive, if only so that he could return to his own bed in Virginia and have a good night’s sleep.

He had half a mind to scream at whoever interrupted his restless sleep, but passed on the idea pretty quickly due to tiredness. Pulling the phone closer to him and placing it against his ear, he couldn’t manage much more than a mutter.

“Reid.”

“Spencer!” the Doctor called, his voice far too cheery for this time of the day. “How are you? Listen,” he added before Spencer could reply, “Quick question, are you in the States or UK at the moment?”

“Not far from London,” Spencer replied tiredly, rubbing his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to get out of bed, but if it was something urgent he knew that he could be at the city within the hour. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing serious,” the Doctor dismissed. “I’m just admitting myself into a hospital and I need to list an emergency medical contact.”

Spencer sighed, falling back on his back and closing his eyes. This man was going to be the death of him.

“Do I even _want_ to know why you’re admitting yourself into a hospital?”

“Just checking an anomaly the TARDIS found,” the Doctor said quickly. “In and out in a day. Well, I gotta go,” he added. “Nurse’s coming in.”

“Doctor, wait –” Spencer said, only for the Doctor to hang up on him.

He glanced at the clock next to his bed and sighed. Whatever the Doctor may have gotten himself into, it wasn’t causing immediate threat to anyone’s life, so Spencer could wait until morning before getting involved.

Now, if he could only fall asleep again.

* * *

The next morning, Spencer told the Master he wanted to go out to the city. It took some convincing but after promising that he will not leave London’s area or contact anyone on his team, the Master agreed.

The car that drove the Master to Saxon headquarters – one of the busiest places in the city three days before the elections – dropped Spencer off just a couple of blocks away from the hospital, and he immediately dialed the Doctor. When the other Time Lord didn’t pick up he sighed, stopping at Costa to fulfill his need of caffeine. After all, his sleep last night was disturbed by a certain someone who felt the need to involve Spencer in his usual troublemaking.

It took nearly ten minutes before the Doctor called him back, and by then Spencer had already turned the corner and froze in shock at the size of the hospital.

“Sorry for the late call last night,” the Doctor said. “I was a bit preoccupied. Did I interrupt your sleep? Did you notice that you need to sleep a lot in this regeneration? _Anyway_ , I was just passing by when I noticed –”

“Plasma coils,” Spencer muttered.

“Yes,” the Doctor said, sounding surprised. “How did you know?”

“Because I’m looking at the hospital right now,” Spencer replied. “But these aren’t plasma coils, Doctor.”

“Don’t be silly,” the Doctor replied. “Course they are.”

“No, they’re not,” Spencer told him. “Or, at least, not usual ones.”

“Martha, have you seen the rain?” a woman next to him asked.

“Doctor, you need to get out of there, now. This is an H2O scoop.”

“The rain is going up!” the woman next to him exclaimed in shock, just as bright lighting covered the sky around the hospital, blinding all of the people in the vicinity.

When the light subsided, the call disconnected and a great crater appeared where the hospital used to be.

Spencer exchanged a worried glance with the woman by his side before both of them broke into a run at the hospital’s direction.

_He just couldn’t have one calm day, could he?_

* * *

It was a few hours before the hospital was back in its appropriate place. During those hours, Spencer became rather friendly to the woman who stood next to him when the hospital disappeared.

Apparently, her name was Tish and she was worried that her sister, Martha, won’t return. It was only partially because if Martha didn’t return then she’d have to deal with the family drama awaiting her that night on her own.

As it turned out, Spencer might have become a bit _too_ friendly, seeing that as soon as the hospital was back she shoved a piece of paper with her number to his hand before rushing to find her sister. It was a shame, too. If everything that was going on with the Master wasn’t happening, he might’ve actually called her back.

Then again, if everything that was going on with the Master wasn’t happening, he wouldn’t have been in London to meet her in the first place.

The moment she was gone, Spencer started searching for the Doctor.

He wasn’t hard to find – but, then again, when was the Doctor ever hard to find? As he noticed Spencer, he changed course towards him, only to pause in shock as Spencer ran to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Must you always almost die on me?” he asked. “Can’t you do something without a risk of immediate death? Just once?”

“I do plenty without risk of death,” the Doctor replied, slowly relaxing into Spencer’s hug and returning it. “It just… doesn’t often happen on Earth.” He swallowed hard before adding, “Long time, no see, Pro- Spencer.”

For a moment, Spencer paused. He had seen this regeneration of the Doctor not long after he regenerated, but that was nearly a year and a half ago, and he was still quite cold towards the other Time Lord back then. The real change had happened with the Hankel case, but that was…

That was a future version of the Doctor.

Quickly, Spencer pulled back.

“Um… yes, it had been a while, hadn’t it?” he asked with a nervous laugh. “Sorry, it’s just… with everything that’s going on – I mean, that _has been_ going on…”

“Yeah…” the Doctor muttered. “I’ve been neglecting you lately, haven’t I?”

“A bit,” Spencer agreed. “I mean, I haven’t seen you since before…” he trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence out loud.

_Since before you lost Rose._

“It’s been a while,” the Doctor agreed. “How about I make up for this?”

“What do you mean?” Spencer asked, confused.

“Join me.”

Of all the responses the Doctor expected, Spencer freezing in shock and fear wasn’t included.

“Or not,” he quickly added. “You know, just a suggestion.”

“It’s just…” Spencer sighed. “It’s not a good time right now.”

“No, I completely understand,” the Doctor said. “ You have your life and everything, I just thought…”

“Next time,” Spencer said, hoping the next time would be after the whole mess with the Master was solved.

“Promise?” the Doctor asked with a teasing smile.

“Promise,” Spencer replied without hesitation. He paused for a moment before pulling the Doctor into another short hug. “Stay safe.”

“I make no promises,” the Doctor said, smiling. “Well, I make one promise. Next time would be soon.”

As Spencer watched the Doctor’s retreating back, he could only hope the next time wouldn’t be _too_ soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Spencer looked around the hall he stood in, searching the crowd for any familiar faces. He had already noticed some, mainly scientists whose works he read or that he met in events similar to this, but also a great amount of politicians and people in various positions of power.

The host of the event was still missing, but Spencer didn’t doubt that he’ll show his face quite soon. After all, it was his big night and Richard Lazarus was known to be a man to relish in the attention he received.

He wasn’t sure what to expect on the way here, but when he arrived to the entrance only for the woman who stood there to widen her eyes and let him in without asking for his name, he knew that it couldn’t be good. After all, things that the Master had his hands in were very rarely good, even if the opportunity for a front row seat in what was supposed to be the greatest human discovery so far was too good to pass by.

Discreetly, Spencer placed his glass of champagne on a nearby table and moved to the bar to grab another. He didn’t drink from it, nor did he plan to drink from the next, but people paid attention to things and the thought that he was feeling comfortable enough to indulge in alcohol made _them_ , in turn, to feel more comfortable around him.

The bartender smiled as he saw him, turning to pour another glass without the need to ask, when a familiar voice spoke from behind.

“So,” the voice said in the worst impression of an American accent Spencer had heard as of date. “What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?”

A smile rose to Spencer’s lips as he turned to adress the owner of the voice.

“Are you sure about the accent?” he asked.

“Not really,” the Doctor shrugged. “Still trying it in.”

“Yeah,” Spencer laughed. “And the suit?”

“Not really,” the Doctor replied. “Black tie and all.”

“Bad things always happen when you wear those.”

“That’s what I said!” the Doctor said excitedly, turning to look at the woman next to him. “Martha, that’s what I said!”

“I know,” the woman – Martha – said with a sigh. “I was there. I’m Martha, by the way,” she added when it became clear the Doctor wasn’t going to introduce the two. “Martha Jones.”

“Oh!” Spencer smiled. “I met your sister yesterday. Outside the hospital.”

“Oh!” Martha’s expression mirrored the surprise on Spencer’s face. “You’re the Spencer she was talking about.”

“She was talking about me?” Spencer asked, blush starting to rise on his cheeks.

In retrospective, her giving him her number should have been a clue that he’s made an impression, but this regeneration of him was always slower in understanding these sort of stuff. It was also more prone to embarrassment, as was clear from the Doctor’s smirk.

“You’ve met Tish, then?” he asked. “She’s Lazarus’ assistant, you know. Practically raised this entire event by herself. Maybe the two of you could sit down for a nice talk later…”

“Doctor…” Spencer groaned, making the other Time Lord laugh and Martha to look between the two of them.

“How did you say the two of you know each other?” she asked.

“Spencer’s an old friend from home,” the Doctor replied.

Martha’s eyes widened as she turned to look at Spencer, studying his features carefully.

“So,” she started hesitantly, “are you also a…”

Her hand moved from one side of her chest to the other, letting Spencer know she knew about the Doctor being an alien, and the biological modifications that came with the fact.

“Yes,” he replied. “Though I don’t usually go announcing it around.”

“No,” Martha agreed. “You blend in as a human much better than he does.”

“Hey!” the Doctor protested. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I have quite a bit more experience in living as a human than the Doctor does,” Spencer replied. “Twenty seven years, to be exact.”

“Why do you always bring that up?” the Doctor groaned.

“The opportunity’s just to good to pass,” Spencer teased lightly, letting the Doctor know he wasn’t truly angry about that any more.

The Doctor opened his mouth to retort to that, only for their attention to be stolen as Lazarus tapped on his glass.

“Better pay attention,” Spencer muttered as the man started talking. “It’s show time.”

.

A few hours later, Spencer was wondering what he had done to deserve everything that was happening around him.

Lazarus’ machine worked – it had managed to turn his age down by decades – but at a price. When the man turned into a murderous, life energy-sucking beast, Spencer took a step back and let Martha and the Doctor to handle it while he helped with the evacuation of the building. When Lazarus came back to life – which, really, should have been expected – he helped calm down the guests while the Doctor and Martha ran off once more, this time accompanied by Tish.

Again, the thought came to his mind that if the two of them would have met on different circumstances, he would have called her already.

When the dust settled over the affair, Spencer found himself walking with Martha and the Doctor back to Martha’s apartment, where the TARDIS was parked.

“Hello, beautiful,” Spencer muttered, his hand lightly touching the box. “Oh, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Spencer, would you mind waiting inside for a bit?” the Doctor asked. “Martha and I have a few things to talk about.”

“No problem,” Spencer smiled, walking into th time machine and closing thw door behind him. “You know,” he told the box, “the last time I was here, from your point of view, had been before the War. He redecorated a bit since. Not sure how I feel about it.”

The TARDIS hummed in response and Spencer smiled.

“A bit grunge,” he muttered. “But it suits you. I’ve been here again in your future, too. Don’t know how long will have passed, but expect another change of your desktop theme. Not that I should tell you, of course.”

He smiled sadly, his fingers daring to touch the controls for a second. The last TARDIS od Gallifrey. He had driven in many cars, flown in many airplanes and built many machines in the years that he had been on Earth, but there was no feeling similar to flying a TARDIS, touching the console or even just staying as a passenger.

After all, a TARDIS was a sentient being. Nothing can compare to that.

“Getting comfortable, are you?” the Doctor asked as he and Martha walked into the box.

“Just a bit,” Spencer replied, not taking his eyes off the console. “Well, I should probably go now.”

“Hold on,” the Doctor quickly said, blocking the door. “And where’s, exactly, do you think you’re going?”

“I’m staying at a friend’s house outside the city,” Spencer replied. “If this is you worrying that I don’t have a place to stay, it’s fine. I got it covered.”

“That’s not what bothers me,” the Doctor smirked. “What bothers me is that the Professor never breaks a promise.”

“The Professor?” Martha asked, confused.

“That’s Spencer’s other name,” the Doctor explained.

“Not my name anymore,” Spencer was quick to add. “I can count how many people know that Spencer Reid and the Professor are the same person on one hand. Well…” he added. “I could. Now that you know, I need another finger, but that’s beside the point.”

“Is it?” the Doctor asked. “And what _is_ the point, Spencer?”

“The point is that Spencer Reid never breaks a promise, either,” Spencer replied. “Which is why I rarely ever make promises.”

“But you did,” the Doctor smiled. “Last time we met. It was only yesterday for you, is your memory getting worse in your old age?”

“You’re 250 years older than me,” Spencer commented. “I don’t think you’re entitled to making jokes about my age.”

“Not my fault you forgot your promise,” the Doctor shrugged, oblivious to the way Martha mouthed the words ‘250 years’ in shock. “Since you don’t remember, I’ll remind you. You _promised_ that you’ll join me the next time we met.”

“I didn’t _promise_.”

“Yeah, you did. And guess what?” the Doctor asked. “This is the next time we met. And you’re not going anywhere.”

“Doctor…” Spencer sighed. “It’s really not a good time right now.”

“It’s a time machine,” the Doctor said as if Spencer needed the reminder. “I can bring you back to this exact moment.”

“Doctor…”

“You promised.”

Spencer let out a heavy sigh, realizing that there was no way he was going to win this argument.

“One trip,” he said. “And if you bring me back late I’ll tear your head off myself.”

“Wouldn’t put it past you,” the Doctor smiled, looking between the two passengers on his ship. “Welcome aboard.”


End file.
